The post of chief architect of Moscow became vacant after Alexander Kuzmin announced his resignation in July 2012. The appointment of the new chief architect of the capital took place in mid-August.
The first information about who is most likely to take the post of chief architect of Moscow appeared a week before the new appointment. An unnamed source in the mayor's office said that Sergei Kuznetsov, who is the managing partner of the Speech Choban / Kuznetsov architectural studio, will most likely be appointed the chief architect of Moscow. Earlier, the Vedomsti newspaper reported that the posts of the chief architect of the city and the head of the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Construction, which had previously been combined by Alexander Kuzmin, would be divided. A source in the mayor's office confirmed this information, adding that the head of the Moskomarkhitektura, most likely, will become the deputy chairman of this department.
The information leaked to the press turned out to be reliable. At a regular meeting of the Moscow government, the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin, announced that 35-year-old Sergei Kuznetsov was appointed the chief architect of the capital and deputy head of the Moscow Committee for Architecture and Construction. Andrey Antipov will be in charge of the Moskomarkhitektura.
The Moscow Mayor explained why the decision was made to split the two positions previously combined by Alexander Kuzmin. According to Sobyanin, the chairman of the Moskomarkhitektura is engaged in management work, he has no time for creativity. The chief architect must work with experts, oversee the capital's urban planning projects. The division of positions will allow the appointed managers to cope with their responsibilities more effectively. The mayor also announced that an architectural council would be created under Sergei Kuznetsov. The new body should help the chief architect in his work by making it more open and transparent.
Quite a lot of complaints have accumulated against the former chief architect of Moscow, primarily as a result of a very inhumane attitude towards the architectural heritage of the capital. At the same time, it is believed that under the former mayor of the city, Yuri Luzhkov, it was the mayor who was the chief architect of Moscow, making decisions on the demolition or reconstruction of city buildings. It can be assumed that the emergence of an architectural council will prevent such a situation in the future.
